Does Marketing Make You Feel Guilty?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Likewise, if you write a book and no one reads it, does it make you an author? I would argue no, because the whole point of writing a book is to share it with others. Otherwise, you’re just writing a diary.

There is a proverb in the Bible that says, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.” If your book helps people “see the light,” then what sense does it make to avoid marketing? Authors should feel excited to let their value shine.

If you reach out to help someone, you usually don’t feel guilty about it. Instead, you feel happy to assist someone in need. Likewise, marketing should be viewed as a liberating endeavor, not an oppressive burden. I encourage you to adopt the following attitude: “I have fantastic value that can help people mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. So, I’d be selfish to keep it to myself.”

When you take time to write a blog, speak publicly, post on Facebook, offer free resources, or conduct radio and TV interviews, you are drawing people to the light of your book. If you find those activities tedious and difficult, then you may have forgotten your value or the fact that people deeply need it.

About Rob Eagar

Rob Eagar is the founder of WildFire Marketing, a consulting practice that helps authors, businesses, and non-profit organizations spread their message like wildfire. He is one of the rare consultants to help clients create three different types of New York Times bestsellers, including new fiction, new non-fiction, and backlist non-fiction. He has consulted with numerous publishers and trained over 400 authors. Rob is the author of Sell Your Book Like Wildfire (Writers Digest), which is considered the bible of book marketing. Find out more at: WildFire Marketing and follow Rob on Twitter.

Do you ever dream of publishing a book that hits The New York Times bestseller list? Do you watch other people routinely achieve bestseller status, such as Brene Brown, James Patterson, or John Maxwell, and wonder how they do it? I’m about to pull back the curtain and give you a sneak peek inside the process…